Community Reacts to Chaos at Nipsey Hussle's Vigil

Community members talk about the moment when chaos erupted at the vigil for local rapper Nipsey Hussle. (Published Tuesday, April 2, 2019)

Chaos and confusion shattered the peaceful calm at the site of a memorial Monday night for slain rapper and philanthropist Nipsey Hussle.

A crowd that had gathered to mourn Hussle outside his store in Los Angeles' Hyde Park area rushed to get out of the area after a man brandished a handgun, police said at a Tuesday news conference. The stampede left 19 people hospitalized.

At least one person was stabbed at the vigil, law enforcement sources told NBC News. The Los Angeles Fire Department said 19 people were taken to hospitals, with two of them in critical condition, two in serious condition and 15 considered to be non-life threatening.

Firefighters initially said the department was responding to reports of shots fired at approximately 8:30 p.m. The Los Angeles Police Department said that reports of the shots fired were inaccurate a short time later, but law enforcement sources familiar with the matter told NBC News Tuesday that two women struck by gunfire showed up at hospitalized.

Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday he could not confirm that the two people were shot. He said panic ensued after someone in the crowd noticed another individual with a handgun, then tried to disarm him.

"We have no information that he shot anyone with it," Moore said. "Another individual there attempted to disarm him. That caused panic in the group and a cascade or stampede of people as they fled the location."

"Somebody panicked and people started to run," David Groce said. "No shots were fired, nobody was fighting, people panicked and a group of people ran."

Newschopper4 Bravo was over the scene and observed the crowd scatter multiple times, with several people visibly injured and receiving medical attention from paramedics.

"Is the area we in," said a community member present at the vigil, "until things get better, it's going to keep happening, regardless of any situation that goes down."

Police proceeded to create a skirmish line and dispersed the crowd that had gathered to pay respects to the slain rapper..

At approximately 9:45 p.m., the LAPD issued a citywide tactical alert, NBC News reported. A tactical alert provides police departments the option of re-distributing officers to respond to a major emergency.